High fantasy such as in the series “Osten Ard”, urban fantasy with “Bobby Dollar”, or cyberpunk fantasy – bestselling author Tad Williams covers almost all types of the genre. He even ventures into the realm of science fiction with the futuristic cyberpunk stories from his ‘Otherland’ novels. And it is precisely this ‘Otherland’ saga that is now being made into a series.
Behind the project is executive producer Mike Weber, who has also implemented another great fantasy saga for the small screen: he produced “The Wheel of Time” for Amazon Prime Video, based on the novels by Robert Jordan, and is also involved in the third season of the fantasy hit, which is currently being filmed. “Otherland” is performed loudly from Platige Image, the studio behind The Witcher and Love, Death and Robots.
That’s what ‘Otherland’ is about
‘Otherland’ is an epic cyberpunk fantasy adventure that takes us to a near future where, in addition to the known reality, there is also a virtual reality called ‘the Net’. Using a brain implant, people can connect to hyper-realistic VR arenas where they can work and play, but where a criminal underworld also exists.
Most people now spend much of their time online, and those who are wealthy have better implants and more stable access, widening the gap between social classes in the real world. There is a mysterious area on the Internet itself, the so-called Otherland, whose technology is even more advanced than anything else in VR – run by the mysterious Grail Brotherhood, who pursue their own goals…
For fans of “Westworld”, “Ready Player One” and Co.
For fans of similar virtual reality adventures such as “Ready Player One”, “Westworld” or “Tron”, “Otherland” should definitely be worth a look. If you don’t want to wait for the movie adaptation, you can read all four of Tad Williams’ ‘Otherland’ books now, starting with ‘City of Golden Shadows – Otherland Volume 1’.
As much as Tad Williams has written, including the “Shadowmarch” tetralogy and, with his wife Deborah Beale, the “Tinkerfarm” books for younger readers, very little has been made into a film by him – so far, nothing at all. which is surprising considering the current hype surrounding fantasy films.
However, several studios have been interested in implementing ‘Otherland’ for over a decade, including Warner Bros., but so far nothing has come of it. Now the adaptation is finally coming – and fantasy fans should definitely take note.